School holiday fines

Westonman · **Joined:** Thu Jan 12, 2012 10:46 am **Posts:** 1806

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... fines.html

Quote:

Parents face fines for taking children out of school during term time to go on holiday, under a crackdown by Education Secretary Michael Gove.
Heads will lose the ability to sanction up to two weeks a year of ‘authorised absence’ during term time, in a fresh drive to improve attendance rates.
The discretionary absence is intended to cover illness, bad weather and bereavements, but many heads come under pressure to grant it so that children can be taken on holidays at times when it is cheaper.

I can think of many more urgent issues affecting schools than fining parents for taking their children on holiday during term time. Some parents should be fined for sending their ill-prepared children TO school; some of the teachers should be banned from going anywhere near a school; and the politicians should be stopped from using school children and the 'education system' as a politically correct programming tool for the next generation.

jim · **Joined:** Wed Jan 11, 2012 6:10 pm **Posts:** 1461

Why don't the government act against the holiday industry, for the exploitation of increased prices during that period? would it be that its easier to prosecute an individual, than a company that could fight back? Big Brother at work methinks.

SOT · **Joined:** Fri Jan 20, 2012 8:14 pm **Posts:** 659

It's the same old song. The Govt seeming fail to get persistent truants to School as often the parents don't give a monkeys and as a result, they are hard work (and expensive) to pursue. A bit like how the CSA and HMRC will always go after an easy target and ignore the difficult ones.

Jon · **Joined:** Wed Jan 11, 2012 6:05 pm **Posts:** 2807

I know one poor mum who was fined even though her kid went to school every day... and kept running out!! She would often ring them to tell them he was back home. That seemed wrong to me. Once a child's at school, the head and teachers are acting in loco parentis. If they are unable to keep their charges under control, interested and at school, they should be the ones to get the fine. He apparently often used to just walk out past the receptionist, and in this mad world there was nothiong they could apparently do to stop him.

firestorm · **Posted:** Wed Feb 22, 2012 7:57 pm

jim wrote:

Why don't the government act against the holiday industry, for the exploitation of increased prices during that period? would it be that its easier to prosecute an individual, than a company that could fight back? Big Brother at work methinks.

Been saying this for years...I used to take my lad out of school to go on Holiday. The travel companies look to make an easy profit as they know they have a captive customer who is tied to the Summer Holiday school break..

gmr · **Joined:** Sun Jan 15, 2012 9:08 pm **Posts:** 120

40 + years ago we mentioned to our sons teacher we wanted to take him to Canada for two weeks during term time; enlightened response was ` Wonderful, he will learn more in those two weeks than I can teach him here in the same time ! '

Similar response in reverse when we asked the two children's teachers in Canada about two weeks vacation in the UK some years later.

Less busybodies and more personal initiative in those days.

rexy · **Joined:** Wed Jan 11, 2012 11:47 pm **Posts:** 221

After the war Mum and Dad took me on a caravan holiday to West Wittering, never been so bored in my life, stuck in the middle of a field, rotten weather, nothing to do, just wanted to go back to school and friends.

jim · **Joined:** Wed Jan 11, 2012 6:10 pm **Posts:** 1461

Thats West Wittering, for you they bring out the zombies at 9 pm now.

ARTFTE · **Joined:** Thu Jan 12, 2012 12:43 am **Posts:** 265

jim wrote:

Thats West Wittering, for you they bring out the zombies at 9 pm now.

Jon · **Joined:** Wed Jan 11, 2012 6:05 pm **Posts:** 2807

rexy wrote:

After the war Mum and Dad took me on a caravan holiday to West Wittering, never been so bored in my life, stuck in the middle of a field, rotten weather, nothing to do, just wanted to go back to school and friends.

Dad often took us to West Wittering for the day. (I think it might be because there was nothing there to spend any money on!! I'll have to ask him.)

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School holiday fines

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